Martin Gusinde Anthropological Museum, Anthropological museum in Puerto Williams, Chile.
The Martin Gusinde Anthropological Museum is a two-story building with three exhibition halls containing roughly 4,000 objects that document indigenous peoples and the region's exploration history. The collection spans from ancient tools to records of early European contact with the area.
The Chilean Navy proposed and built the museum in 1974, and its first building opened in 1975: a structure of Guaitecas cypress wood of about 230 m². It was named after Martin Gusinde, the Austrian anthropologist who worked in Tierra del Fuego between 1918 and 1924. The building was enlarged to more than 810 m² and fully renovated by late 2007, reopening in 2008. On 10 January 2024 it was renamed Museo Territorial Yagán Usi – Martín González Calderón.
The museum displays how the Yahgan people lived with boats and their deep connection to the southern landscape. Visitors can see their myths and understand their way of life through objects and explanations.
The museum is located at Subida Comandante Aragay 1 in Puerto Williams with limited visiting hours throughout the week. It is worth checking opening times in advance since schedules can be seasonal and subject to change given the location's remote nature.
The Stirling Pavilion explains the Stirling House, a prefabricated cast-iron structure made in 1869 by Hemming & Co. of Old Ford for the South American Mission Society at a cost of £265. Measuring 6 by 3.5 metres, it was the first building erected by Europeans in Tierra del Fuego and was moved to the museum grounds in 2003.
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